Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) has updated its guidance for 2019. The Israeli telco notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this morning that, "following exceptional circumstances in the second quarter of 2019 (writing off tax assets on the Bezeq-Yes merger, recording capital gains tax for selling the Sakiya site and losses from Pelephone's fall in value) as well as costs including the early retirement of employees in the forecast data, the company is revising its forecast for the Group in 2019."
Instead of net profit of between NIS 900 million - 1 billion, in the previous forecast, Bezeq now expects a loss to shareholders of NIS 1.1 billion. Expected EBITDA will be NIS 2.9 billion, compared with about NIS 3.9 billion in the previous forecast.
In its second quarter financial report today, Bezeq reported a net loss of NIS 1.2 billion, following write downs in the value of its subsidiaries, compared with net profit of NIS 195 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018. Revenue in the second quarter of 2019 was NIS 2.2 billion compared with NIS 2.3 billion in the corresponding quarter of 2018.
Profit of Bezeq's Pelephone mobile phone unit in the second quarter of 2019 was NIS 2 million, down 71.4% from NIS 7 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018. Pelephone's revenue in the second quarter was NIS 570 million, down from NIS 602 million in the corresponding quarter of 2018.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 29, 2019
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